Positive Results
All regional business lines, and particularly Grains & Oilseeds and Global Markets, delivered positive results despite the effects of Covid-19, summer drought in the southern hemisphere and currency fluctuations in Latin America.
Anticipation & Resilience
Anticipating Covid-19 impacts and the effects of local currency uncertainty on farmer selling behavior allowed us to capture opportunities, keep assets running and avoid commercial defaults, despite operational challenges and increased costs.
Automation & Digitization
We drove efficiency and new business through automation and digitization, introducing dashboards for farmer selling and export records in Argentina, automating rainfall record analysis from over 250 weather stations, and digitizing contracts and payments throughout the Region.
Alejandro Benvenuto
Head of South & West Latin America
“In an increasingly connected world, digitizing flows, research and data analysis is a must, both to secure future business and to offer farmers, customers and other partners more comprehensive support and services.”
More Regional Highlights
In Argentina, we invested over US$21 million in maintenance and various enhancements for our facilities, including rail connections to support agriculture logistics in the north of the country.
We began the qualification process to start exporting soybean meal from Argentina to Australia, running detailed audits to determine any quality, safety and infrastructure changes needed to meet strict zero cross-contamination requirements.
Five facilities in Argentina and Paraguay were certified to offer soybean meal and oil certified by the Round Table on Responsible Soy to the European market.
We renovated our Villanueva coffee mill in Honduras by re-engineering the production line and adding a state-of-the-art dust extraction system, which will increase processing efficiency by 60%.
We successfully started our cotton origination business in Mexico, aiming to double sales volumes in 2021.
Although we closed our coffee origination operations in Peru, we continued to support the country’s producers through the purchase of Free On Board coffee from selected suppliers.
↑60%
increase in processing efficiency at Villanueva, Honduras, following enhancements
↓50%
reduction in operating times for fertilizer activities, through technical upgrades at five assets in Argentina
No 1
cotton exporter in Argentina for second year running
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Covid-19 Response
Swift and consistent global measures helped keep our people safe and vital supply chains moving, as we continued to deliver for partners everywhere – safely, reliably and responsibly.
Sustainability
We continued to reinforce the mechanisms, processes and governance structures that embed responsible practices in all our activities, working to create fair and sustainable value.
Innovation
We continued to embrace innovation to drive new business, operational efficiency, workplace safety and supply chain sustainability.
Industrial Excellence
A record year in terms of safety despite challenges posed by Covid-19, as well as positive environmental performance and continued investments in our assets.
Grains & Oilseeds
Increased profitability, while diversifying revenue streams and product portfolio, investing in operational network and advancing supply chain traceability
Global Markets
Risk management and market expertise drove very strong performance across all regions, in a highly volatile and challenging environment
Coffee
Exceptional performance, new investments downstream and continued support for coffee farming communities globally
Cotton
Reinforced our leading position despite Covid-19 challenges, leveraging risk management expertise, global reach and extensive asset network